


Happily Ever After

by SharpestRose



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-01
Updated: 2011-07-01
Packaged: 2017-10-20 21:54:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/217463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SharpestRose/pseuds/SharpestRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dawn gets a happy ending.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Happily Ever After

The girl rocks a little, curled tightly in on herself, sobbing. She wants her Mommy, wants her Mommy's arms around her. Wants her big sister, with a big warm smile and enviable blonde hair. Mommy always said Dawn was too young to dye her hair, time for all that when she grows up. But now Mommy's dead, and she's never going to grow up, and she's scared. The tears come in great wet gasps.

Then, after a long time, Dawn stops crying and raises her head, eyes red-rimmed but wide open, calm. Something inside her falls away and it feels strange, Dawn never thought that growing up might literally feel like growing, but it does. She feels bigger all of a sudden, more powerful.

A door opens somewhere and she turns towards the sound. Ben, and a few of the minions, but she ignores them.

"They, uh ... said you have to put this on ... for the ceremony." He says, sounding vaguely apologetic. Dawn looks at the cloth in his hands, a ceremonial robe, then back at his face.

"I don't like the color." She snaps.

"Come on, just-" Ben is interrupted as Dawn scowls.

"Let me talk to Glory. Glory Glory Glorygloryglory!" she wails.

Ben pauses for a moment, trying to work out how to best reason with the girl, then gives up, his face shifting into the Hell God.

"What's the hubub, bub?" Glory asks. Dawn gestures to the robe.

"I don't like it. I want it in a different color."

Long moment as the two lock eyes, then Glory nods and turns to one of the minions.

"She wants a different color." Glory orders.

"But, your wonderfulness, there's no time to change it, these robes have taken many hours to prepare." The minion stammers. Dawn raises one eyebrow and regards the minion coolly, the effect only slightly spoiled by her puffy nose and tearstained cheeks.

"Then I'd get cracking, if I were you." she turns her attention to Glory, "Tell Buffy that I killed myself. She'll try to stop the ritual otherwise." For a fraction of a second, Dawn pauses. "Kill some of them and act really pissed off, or they'll know you're lying."

Shift. She's talking to Ben now.

"Kill them?" he sounds shocked. Dawn doesn't think he has a right to, really.

"They got to be Buffy and Willow and everybody longer than I got to be Dawn. I think it's fair that they go first." she answers. "And anyway, it's not like they're gonna be mourning for long." Ben just stares at her. Dawn's bored.

"Make my new robes!" she shouts at the minions, "And stop looking at me like that."

~

A little later, Glory's back from stopping any problems from arising for the big night. They're choosing shoes, Dawn hasn't worn high heels out in public before and she's a teensy bit scared she's going to fall on her butt and look stupid.

Tries on another pair, not so high so she feels a bit more confident. Her new robes are much nicer, but she didn't say thankyou to the minions who sewed it. Keys don't have to do stuff like that.

"I wish you hadn't been so stubborn for so long." Glory sounds a little regretful. "The two of us could've had a blast."

"We will." Dawn assures her, smiling a little. Glory laughs, and grabs Dawn's hands. They spin around, and after a hesitation Dawn joins in the laughter, giggling in anticipation.

~

Dawn feels like she's going to the prom, only better because everyone's looking at her and saying how lovely she is. She's the Prom Queen to end all Queens, radiant in shoes she's walking fine in and her hair in all these little twists that she showed the minions how to do. Dawn's never gotten that hairstyle to work properly before, but now it looks totally cool. Ben is so much better than any of the dates that he friends could've gotten to the Prom, too. Glory wants to get some rest before showtime, so Ben walks beside her, holding the shoes Glory picked out to wear. Dawn starts to giggle as she imagines Ben trying to walk in the pumps.

Tara is standing off to one side with all the other people that're watching Dawn and Ben walk to the tower. Dawn waves excitedly at her and Tara waves back with a huge happy grin on her face. It's nice that at least one of her friends is here to see her looking so nice, with everyone going ooh and ahh. Dawn's finally the center of attention, and boy does she love it.

The knife hurts going in, but it's a good hurt. A little, Dawn imagines, like other girls her age feel when they lose their virginity. She's a bit scared and a bit sad for a second, because being so high up reminds her of when she was in grade school and scared of the high-dive board at the pool. But that never happened, so it's not important.

Why did Buffy bother going on patrol every night, killing all the vampires when it never made a difference? Buffy will die tonight, along with everyone else in Sunnydale, and nothing she ever did will matter at all. It doesn't matter that Mommy died, it doesn't matter that Dad left, it doesn't matter that Dawn never got to kiss a boy.

Everything has to end eventually, at least this way she's doing something important. She won't just live a stupid boring life and have stupid boring kids and then die one day on the couch. Dawn finally matters.

The Key disentangles itself from the meat shell it has been trapped in and trickles down into the growing ball of energy below. Some tiny part of it remembers being lonely, a long long time ago. Wanting a big hug. Now everything's all right again because she's finally home, safe in the warmth that envelops her, back where she belongs. Mommy, I missed you so much. Love you.

Something's missing. Big sister, pretty sister who protects her and keeps her safe. A memory, a human memory cloudy with attached emotion, surfaces. Big smile and pretty blonde hair that tickles her nose when they hug. Then a cool wash of relief as the Key senses Big sister close by, up above with the meatsack (Dawn, that was its name, right? So long ago now), making sure the Key gets out properly. Wonderful sister, always making sure everything's ok. Sister gets to go home now, because of the Key, and that's so nice.

Everything is perfect, everything is wonderful.

The Key does what she's been waiting her whole life to do, and the lock opens.

  



End file.
